Rates from Bankrate.com

Stocks Rise After Debt-Ceiling Deal

NEW YORK ( TheStreet) -- Major U.S. stock averages advanced Wednesday, helped by upbeat earnings from high-profile companies and a debt-ceiling deal.

Apple(AAPL) shares jumped 1.8% to $514 ahead of the company's fourth-quarter earnings report. After the stock market closed, the tech giant said profit was $13.81 a share, beating analysts' estimates of $13.53 a share, while revenue was $54.5 billion, trailing estimates of $54.9 billion. The shares subsequently tumbled, trading as low as $485.

McDonald's(MCD) shares were up 0.6% after the company posted fourth-quarter earnings of $1.38 a share on revenue of $6.95 billion, topping the Wall Street consensus estimate of $1.33 a share on revenue of $6.89 billion as the company focused on offering affordable menu options. For the near-term, the restaurant chain expects revenue and profit growth to remain pressured, with January's global comparable sales expected to be negative.

The top percentage blue-chip winners were IBM, Microsoft(MSFT) and Walt Disney (DIS) .

United Technologies posted fourth-quarter earnings Wednesday of $1.04 a share on revenue of $16.4 billion, versus the average analyst expectation of earnings of $1.03 a share on revenue of $16.63 billion. The company reaffirmed its 2013 earnings per share outlook of $5.85 to $6.15 a share, saying that it was seeing improvements in order trends.

The S&P 500 added 2 points, or 0.2%, to 1,495. The Nasdaq was higher by 10 points, or 0.3%, to 3,154.

In the broad market, sectors were mixed, led lower by consumer cyclicals, utilities and basic materials. The technology, services and consumer non-cyclicals climbed.

Volumes rose to 3.51 billion on the New York Stock Exchange and 1.69 billion on the Nasdaq. Decliners edged advancers by a ratio of 1.1-to-1 on the Big Board and 1.4-to-1 on the Nasdaq.

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives overwhelmingly extended the debt ceiling out to May 19 by a 285-144 vote.

President Barack Obama indicated Tuesday that he would not oppose the plan, while U.S. Senator Harry Reid said he is happy to see the clean debt ceiling legislation in the House, and that it's a "big step in the right direction."